Morso Squirrel goes out overnight.

soupdragon10

I ask this as I'm having problems keeping my Morso Squirrel alight overnight. Shut both the vents but still by the morning almost all the coal is burnt and the fire has gone out.

Even tried riddling and topping up at 1 a.m to see if this would keep it going until breakfast but no luck.

Would logs burn more slowly? I am at a loss. I want to keep it going in an attempt to warm the house through, as when it's going in the evening the whole house benefits.

w50nky

I don`t know the age or condition of your stove and take it that your stove is in good condition and not allowing air to leak in through perished door rope seals etc.

I could not get my stove to stay in overnight with logs. I was never really intending to so as burning wood with the stove vents closed would lead to deposits of soot, creosote etc.
I am sure your Morso stove will be easy to light in the morning but I understand that the house is so much more comfortable when you come down to a cheery glow in the morning.
I use a smokless fuel brickette called supertherm which is the best I have found for my stove so far. The stove has been running 24/7 for the last 8/9 weeks or so without any problems and is still well alight in the morning. The bottom vent is not closed completely as this still provides a decent burn and avoid soot build up etc.

I think perhaps you should try a few different fuels to see what suits your stove for overnight burning.


Good luck!

Swipe

Yes, the type/brand of fuel can make a huge difference in maintaining overnight burns.

shegar

Swipe wrote: »

Yes, the type/brand of fuel can make a huge difference in maintaining overnight burns.

Well I tried anthracite, furnacite, taybrite.. normal house coal, logs, but the dam thing wouldnt keep in, I shut all dampers down put ash on top of the coal before shutting it down always had a good base ............had it installed properly .....but then some people can keep theirs in and some cant.......if you try most coals and it still goes out.....plus if its been fitted properly then thats it theres not much more you can do , or less someone else with far more experience than me knows a better way of keeping it in.........

spinningsheep

there must be something wrong somewhere, I have a Parkray Paragon open fire, and I am able to keep the fire in to an extent overnight, a quick riddle, empty ashpan and a handful of kindling on and it's away again, keeps the chill off in the lounge. I only do this when the temperature outside is VERY cold ie -10 or lower. I would check your rope seals and door closings, as it sounds like it is not closing down as much as you think.

w50nky

I have looked on the http://www.whatstove.co.uk/reviews/stoves/stove-reviews/_c32_m9/?limit=10&page=2 website and there are a few variants of this stove .
The standard stove seems better at burning overnight than the cleanburn model which allways allows air to the fuel to achieve the clean combustion of the fuel and will burn fuel faster. What model do you have?
It seems that the fuel must be burning away quite fast even with your dampers fully closed but to burn there must be air entering the stove from some point.

owned_by_2_Siamese

Hi - Please read the instructions that came with your squirrel - its not designed to burn overnight (esp if its a cleanheat). In fact it specifically recommends you dont do this.

However! I have a Morso Cleanheat. It will stay in overnight with coal (smokeless - I use Stoveheat from CPL) DO NOT completely close all vents - you risk carbon monoxide from incomplete combustion.

After burning all day, I load up with coal (dont use the coal savers if you have them they dont give enough volume). Load up so that the coal is level with the front guard, and higher at the back (not too high) LEAVE THE TOP AIRVENT - on the clean heat this is a lever at the bottom - fully open (all the way to he right) The front ashpan dial should be closed then opened about quarter of a turn. Make sure the ashpan is empty. Go to bed.

In the morning - riddle gently - you will need to empty ashpan, replace and riddle again and empty ashpas for the second time - smokeless coal makes lots of ash. Then bank up again - it may look out but it wont be. Fully open bottom (ashpan airvent) and leave for 10 mins - and you should be good to go.

PLEASE NEVER CLOSE ALL THE AIRVENTS. there is a serious risk of carbon monoxide - your stove will not be airtight (try lighting with a downdraft you'll see smoke coming out of the joints on the stove panels) but dont rely on this to provide enough air for combustion. Fit a CO detector if you are going to leave the stove in overnight.

Good luck - its takes a while to 'get to know your stove' - and that includes how fast/well your chimney draws!

soupdragon10

Thanks for this, it's not a cleanheat stove, and looking online is one of the older models.

Having looked at the doors, the rope seal of the ash door does seem to be a bit worn (I know the fire door is fine as I had to have the glass replaced and they did the rope at the same time).

Will get this replaced and also investigate some other fuels and try to find an instruction book (don't even know if I've got one for the stove).

One other thing that just occurred to me is that our chimney is a very large victorian one, not sure if this is causing lots of draught and causing the fuel to burn quickly.

grahamc2003

owned_by_2_Siamese wrote: »

PLEASE NEVER CLOSE ALL THE AIRVENTS. there is a serious risk of carbon monoxide - your stove will not be airtight (try lighting with a downdraft you'll see smoke coming out of the joints on the stove panels) but dont rely on this to provide enough air for combustion. Fit a CO detector if you are going to leave the stove in overnight.

QUOTE]

I'd say there's something not right if the stove isn't airtight to a very high degree, and certainly if smoke comes out of the jopints (or anywhere else).

Mine is pretty airtiht - turn the input air knob closed, and any fire quickly goes out. Having said that, the air control knob which originally came with mine (a little wenlock) didn't completely shut off the incoming air, but the replacement knob with an improved design does.

I'm not expecting a chimney fire (partly because I don't burn in such a way as to generate smoke and tar, like trying to burn overnight), but if I did get one, I reckon turning the input air knob to close off tha air supply would put it out, whereas if there are leaks anywhere (either in the stove, or the pipe/stove or pipe/register plate or register plate/chimney breast joints) then a chimney fire would just carry on burning I expect. As you say, you also then have the risk of co poisoning.

The thing I'm not sure of is whether a chimney fire could maintain itself by getting air from the chimney itelf (i.e. outside air being sucked down the centre of the chimney, feeding a fire on the edges of the chimney, then exhausting out the chimney up the sides iyswim). Does anyone know that?

owned_by_2_Siamese

Hi Graham - your stove is designed for overnight burning (its prob sheet steel) the morse is cast iron - each panel is bolted together with a rope seal in between - nearly airtight -but it has to allow for expansion. With a sheet steel stove they tend to be fewer joined panels (folded!) - that one of the reasons why some stoves aren't recommended for long burns. On teh otherhand the cast iron will literally last for ever!

If you have ever had a really strong down draft (really strong!) you will get smoek escape from the joints - in normal draft conditions you are quite right there will not be any escape (as the flue pulls the gasses up and therefore pulls air into the stove) This is also why closing all te air vents on a squirrel wont put the fire out of the draft will pull some air through - BUT you cant guarantee enough for complete combustion - hence the CO warning.

Rest assured there is nothing wrong with the stove.

stoveadvice

is the stove going out and leaving unburnt fuel in the grate? or does the feul burn out too quickly leaving nothing in the grate in the morning?

if it is leaving unburnt fuel in the gratethen you need to slightly open the air vents, the fuel will need some air to keep it burning during the night.

if it is completely burning the fuel then you have a problem with the sealing of your stove, its is drawing in more air than you want it to.

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